Back home in the Huntsman Center , the University of Utah gymnastics team took on California on Saturday, Feb. 4. As the two undefeated and nationally ranked teams faced each other, the Red Rocks took a 196.45-195.725 win, and it became the sole leader of the Pac-12.
“Our warmups were incredible and ur energy was good,” said senior Baely Rowe. “There was a calm confidence I thought we had during warmups. We had a great start, and we were able to finish the meet.”
In all-around, freshman MyKayla Skinner won for the fifth time this season with a 39.5. Following closely behind was sophomore MaKenna Merrell with a 39.375.
“It was fun to be back in all-around because at Washington I wasn’t able to compete in the vault,” Merrell said.
Since the Red Rocks were in their home-arena, they started off on the vault as their opponent headed to the bars. Skinner and Merrell both finished with a score of 9.9, and Rowe provided her team with a boost as she finished with a 9.875 score.
With multiple falls from California on Bars, Utah took the lead after the first rotation with a running score of 49.275. However, the Bears managed to bring the score to a 97.7-97.7 tie during the second rotation after a few mishaps during bars for Utah. Junior Tiffani Lewis helped her team with a 9.85 performance, Skinner followed with a 9.8, but it wasn’t enough to keep the lead.
“I thought the first kid up [on bars] kind of effected the mood,” said co-head coach Tom Farden. “[Merrell] scored a 9.75 and after that, they all got a little tight. But I told them after the sleepy half that if they wanted to win, they had to be aggressive, determined, and not hold back on the second half of the meet.”
Despite the shaky performances on bars, the Red Rocks came back stronger on the beam. Sophomore Kari Lee and Merrell tied for first in this event as both finished with a 9.875, and teammates Skinner and and Rowe tied for third with a 9.85. After the third rotation, Utah retook the lead over California with a running score of 146.975.
In the last rotation of the meet, Utah dominated the floor as Skinner finished with a 9.95, and Rowe came in second with a 9.925. By the end of the performances, Utah had secured another win.
“We are in the middle of the season, and we have gone week after week [of competition],” Lewis said. “Not every meet is going to go exact the way we want, so we just try to trust each other and keep the train rolling.”
Up next for the Red Rocks, they will be back on the road next week as they travel to Corvallis to compete against Oregon State on Saturday, Feb. 11. The meet is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. MT.
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